Eastern District of Virginia

A Virginia couple and Missouri man pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a public official.

Susan May Keim, 54, and Russell John Keim Sr., 60, both of Hopewell, Virginia, pleaded guilty on Nov. 28 for their participation in a conspiracy relating to bribes of public officials. Rodney Gale Wilson, 67, of Imperial, Missouri, pleaded guilty today to the same charges.

According to court documents, Susan Keim and her husband Russell Keim accepted bribes from Wilson in return for Susan Keim’s award of purchase orders to Wilson’s company to sell parts and materials to U.S. Army Garrison Fort Lee (Fort Lee). Susan Keim worked for Skookum Educational Services (Skookum), a company that contracted with the federal government to provide maintenance and supply services at Fort Lee. Wilson was the owner of C&L Supply, a company formed for the sole purpose of selling supplies to Skookum for use at Fort Lee. From 2013 to 2018, in return for the award of the subcontracts worth over $900,000, Wilson provided checks and cash payments to Susan and Russell Keim disguised as compensation to Russell Keim for work performed for C&L Supply and payments for work done on a property owned by the Keims.

Susan Keim, Russell Keim, and Wilson each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to offer bribes to a public official and to accept bribes as a public official. The Keims are scheduled to be sentenced on April 13, 2023, and Wilson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18, 2023. They each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia; Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI Richmond Field Office; Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Field Office (MPFFO); and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Richmond Field Office, Army CID’s MPFFO, and DCIS Mid-Atlantic Field Office are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch Slater of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Moore for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case. Former Trial Attorney Rebecca M. Schuman of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section also prosecuted the case. 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Newport News man on Friday on charges of brandishing a firearm while robbing a gas station convenience store in Henrico County.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on January 17, 2019, the defendant, Chaikim Reynolds, 21, entered a gas station convenience store in Henrico County to rob it. His co-conspirator, Darrell Pittman, 23, of Hampton, was armed with a semi-automatic handgun and trained it on the clerk while Reynolds removed U.S. currency from the cash register.

Reynolds was identified by a member of the Hampton Police Department, who saw him in an area-wide request to identify. Reynolds was arrested less than a week later while fleeing police with Pittman when Reynolds crashed the vehicle he was driving into another car, killing that car’s passenger. A loaded firearm, later identified as the one used in the robbery, was recovered from that vehicle.

Pittman previously pleaded guilty for his role in the conspiracy.

Reynolds was convicted today of interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the former with a minimum penalty of seven years’ and a maximum term of life incarceration to be served consecutively on the latter when sentenced on April 25, 2023. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division; Col. Eric D. English, Chief of Police for Henrico County Police Department; Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police; Mark G. Solesky, Chief of Chesapeake Police; and Mark Talbot, Chief of Hampton Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes accepted the verdict.

Significant assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie D. Podlesni and D. Mack Coleman are prosecuting the case. Former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross previously provided valuable assistance in the investigation of the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-39.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Obsidian Solutions Group, LLC (Obsidian), located in Fredericksburg, has agreed to pay $510,991.08 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for labor performed by personnel that did not meet contractual requirements.

Obsidian had a contract with DIA to provide strategic-level analytical support to advance national and Department of Defense (DOD) goals and objectives for protecting the DOD’s supply chain. The government alleged that Obsidian employed personnel who failed to meet the qualifications specified by the contract, either because the personnel lacked a required degree or the required years of relevant professional experience. As a result, according to the government’s allegations, DIA paid more for labor than could be justified by the personnel’s qualifications.   

“To be scrupulous stewards of taxpayer funds, government contractors must comply with contractual requirements, particularly while continuing to charge the government for the costs associated with meeting the requirements,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber. “EDVA will continue its work to safeguard the government procurement process.”

“Protecting the integrity of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) procurement process is a top priority for the DIA Office of the Inspector General,” stated Assistant Inspector General for Investigations William B. Borden III, DIA OIG. “The Office of the Inspector General, DIA, will continue to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in DIA programs and operations as we strive to improve government funds stewardship from our civilian and contractor workforce.”

“This settlement demonstrates the continued commitment of the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and its law enforcement partners, to investigate and resolve allegations of false claims. DCIS is steadfast in its commitment to hold defense contractors accountable for employing corrupt business practices” stated, Paul K. Sternal, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, DCIS.  “It is imperative that the procurement process remain free of false statements and that DoD contractors commit to providing adequately qualified personnel as specified by the contracts. A qualified workforce is the foundation of success for the DoD and DIA.”

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the DIA Office of Inspector General, the DIA Office of the General Counsel, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare P. Wuerker. The civil claims settled by this False Claims Act agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for unlawfully possessing ammunition that he used to shoot at someone and for unlawfully possessing a firearm in a separate incident roughly a year later.

According to court documents, on March 27, 2021, within nine months of his release from federal prison for a prior felon-in-possession conviction, Earlon Delton Mitchell, 33, returned to the place he had been arrested in his previous case and assaulted a woman. When another woman showed up and tried to stop him, he brandished a firearm at her, so she drove away, stopped at the end of the block, and called 911. He walked into the street and shot at her several times, but missed, hitting two parked cars and leaving shell casings that were later recovered.

Almost exactly a year later, while still on federal supervised release, he went back to that same location, where police officers spotted him and tried to make contact with him. He fled, and they pursued him. While running, he threw his loaded, stolen firearm to the ground. The officers caught and arrested him, recovering the firearm, as well as 40 grams of methamphetamine and marijuana separated into three baggies, along with $115 cash in different denominations.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Mike Goldsmith, Interim Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Jackson prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-65.

ABB Ltd. (ABB), a Swiss-based global technology company listed on the New York Stock Exchange with core businesses focused on electrification, automation, motion, and robotics has agreed to pay more than $315 million to resolve an investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) stemming from the bribery of a high-ranking official at South Africa’s state-owned energy company. 

The Department of Justice’s resolution is coordinated with prosecutorial authorities in South Africa and Switzerland, as well as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“This is the department’s first coordinated resolution with authorities in South Africa, where much of ABB’s criminal scheme was carried out, reflecting our commitment to relationship-building and our ever-deepening partnerships in the global fight against corruption,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “ABB bribed a high-ranking official at South Africa’s state-owned energy company in order to corruptly obtain confidential information and win lucrative contracts. In addition, our partners in South Africa have brought corruption charges against that official.  This resolution demonstrates the Criminal Division’s thoughtful approach to appropriately balancing ABB’s extensive remediation, timely and full cooperation, and demonstrated intent to bring the misconduct to the department’s attention promptly upon discovering it, while also accounting for ABB’s historical misconduct.” 

According to court documents and statements made in court, ABB entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the department in connection with the filing of a criminal information in the Eastern District of Virginia charging the company with conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions, conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s books and records provisions, and substantive violations of the FCPA. In addition, ABB subsidiaries ABB Management Services Ltd. (Switzerland) and ABB South Africa (Pty) Ltd. (South Africa) each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. 

The department reached this resolution with ABB based on a number of factors, including: 1) the nature and seriousness of the misconduct; 2) ABB’s demonstrated intent to disclose the misconduct promptly to the department; 3) ABB’s extraordinary cooperation with the department’s investigation; 4) ABB’s extensive remediation, including carrying out a root-cause analysis of the misconduct and making significant investments in compliance personnel, compliance testing, and monitoring through the organization; 5) ABB’s commitment to further enhance its compliance program and internal controls, including enhanced reporting provisions that require ABB, during the pendency of the DPA, to meet with the department at least quarterly and to submit yearly reports regarding the status of its remediation efforts, the results of its testing of its compliance program, and its proposals to ensure that its compliance program is reasonably designed, implemented, and enforced, so that it is effective in deterring and detecting violations of the FCPA and other applicable anti-corruption laws; 6) ABB’s decade-old criminal history, which includes two prior criminal resolutions by ABB entities with the department for FCPA violations in 2004 and 2010, as well as a guilty plea by an ABB entity for bid rigging in 2001; 7) ABB’s agreement to concurrently resolve separate investigations by authorities in South Africa and Switzerland, as well as the SEC, and its anticipated resolution of a related investigation by German authorities; and 8) ABB’s agreement to continue to cooperate with the department in ongoing investigations. In light of these considerations, the criminal monetary penalty reflects a 25% discount off the mid-point between the middle and high end of the otherwise applicable U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range.

Pursuant to the DPA, ABB’s total criminal penalty is $315 million. The department has agreed to credit up to one-half of the criminal penalty against amounts the company pays to authorities in South Africa in related proceedings, along with other credits for amounts ABB pays to resolve investigations conducted by the SEC and authorities in Switzerland and Germany, so long as payments underlying an anticipated resolution with German authorities are made within 12 months of today’s date. 

“Corruption and bribery are not victimless acts. They can create hazardous working conditions, hurt honest businesses, and erode trust and integrity in local and global governance,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This resolution reflects the need for accountability, recompense, and rehabilitation in the wake of these kinds of violations. I extend my appreciation to the law enforcement authorities in South Africa, Switzerland, and Germany for their invaluable assistance.”  

“As this resolution shows, international partnerships are central to the FBI’s efforts against global corruption,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners conducted a thorough investigation to uncover the source of bribes to a senior official at South Africa’s state-owned energy company. No matter which country the crime occurs in, the FBI is steadfast in pursuing those who violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.” 

According to ABB’s admissions and court documents, between 2014 and 2017, ABB, through certain of its subsidiaries, paid bribes to a South African government official who was a high-ranking employee at the state-owned and controlled energy company, Eskom Holdings Limited (Eskom) to obtain business advantages in connection with the award of multiple contracts. ABB engaged multiple subcontractors associated with the South African government official and made payments to those subcontractors that were intended, at least in part, as bribes. ABB worked with these subcontractors despite their poor qualifications and lack of experience. In return, ABB received improper advantages in its efforts to obtain work with Eskom, including, among other benefits, confidential and internal Eskom information. 

As part of the scheme, ABB conducted sham negotiations to obtain contracts at inflated prices that ABB had pre-arranged with the South African government official, all on the condition that ABB employ a particular subcontractor associated with that official. ABB also falsely recorded payments to the subcontractors as legitimate business expenses when, in fact, a portion of the payments were intended as bribes for the South African government official.

The FBI’s International Corruption Unit and the United State Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance. The department also expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided by law enforcement authorities in South Africa, Switzerland, and Germany.

Trial Attorney William E. Schurmann and Assistant Deputy Chief Jonathan P. Robell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi B. Gesch for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Today, Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA), announced the completion of the first of a series of events designed to help community members and leaders have a better understanding of hate crimes and how to report them to law enforcement.

Yesterday evening, EDVA and the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater co-hosted a presentation called “United Against Hate: Identifying, Reporting and Preventing Hate Crimes” at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community in Virginia Beach. Members of communities in Hampton Roads who are at risk of being targeted in hate crimes, as well as organizations representing these communities, were invited to the event, as well as law enforcement professionals who work on investigating hate crimes. The goal of this event series is to empower community members to prevent and respond to hate crimes and incidents by meeting and facilitating conversations with the law enforcement members to whom they can direct questions and reports about hate crimes and hate incidents.

“One of the greatest promises our country offers is the opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, regardless of your background or identity,” said Aber. “Unfortunately, that promise can be compromised for some because of discriminatory acts against them, one of the most heinous of which is hate crimes. We at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, along with our federal and state law enforcement partners, want to encourage the community to report all incidents of hate to law enforcement. Although not every incident can be prosecuted as a crime, reporting allows us to prosecute those that can and enables us to connect incidents across the Commonwealth and the nation, to marshal resources to the most targeted communities, and to better monitor trends in order to prevent future incidents. We hope that UAH will be the beginning of increased public awareness about hate crimes.”

The speakers at the event included U.S. Attorney Aber and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh, as well as law enforcement professionals from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, and Norfolk Police Department. Over 40 people attended the event.

Through hypothetical scenarios and video clips depicting real-life hate crime cases and stories, United Against Hate promotes robust interaction between community members and law enforcement participants. Program topics include defining hate crimes versus hate incidents; the importance of reporting unlawful acts of hate; providing options for responding to hate incidents when situations do not constitute a federal or state crime; and distinguishing unlawful conduct from protected First Amendment activity, including identifying protected speech versus speech that advocates violence or encourages people to commit hate crimes.

On May 27, 2021, Attorney General Garland issued a memorandum on “Improving the Department’s Efforts to Combat Hate Crimes and Hate Incidents,” which emphasized the importance of prioritizing community outreach around hate crimes. The United Against Hate presentation, developed by the Department’s Hate Crimes Enforcement and Prevention Initiative, is designed to meet that objective. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia applied for and was proud to be selected for the first national phase of this important program.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

A former police chief in Amite City, Louisiana and a former Amite City councilmember were each sentenced yesterday to one year in prison for violating federal election laws as part of a conspiracy to pay, or offer to pay, voters for voting in a federal election.

In addition to the prison sentence, the former police chief was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. Today, an additional co-conspirator was sentenced to four months in prison for his role in the scheme. 

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jerry Trabona, 73, the former Chief of Police in Amite City, and Kristian “Kris” Hart, 50, a former Amite City councilmember, agreed with each other and others to pay or offer to pay voters residing in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, for voting during the 2016 Open Primary Election and the 2016 Open General Election, contests in which Trabona and Hart were candidates. Trabona and Hart’s vote buying scheme included the solicitation and hiring of individuals responsible for identifying potential voters, the transportation of those voters to the polls, and payment and offer of payment to the voters for voting. In the 2016 election, co-conspirator Sidney Smith, 69, of Amite City, paid voters with money provided by Trabona and Hart.

Two other Louisiana men who previously pleaded guilty for their involvement in the vote buying scheme, Calvin Batiste and Louis Ruffino, will be sentenced at a later date.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI New Orleans Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI New Orleans Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Rosaleen T. O’Gara and Michael N. Lang of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Irene González for the Eastern District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge man pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in dogfighting, and a Camp Springs, Maryland, man pleaded guilty today to advertising a dogfight on the internet. 

According to court documents, from at least May 2015 through August 2020, Derek Garcia, 41, Ricardo Thorne, 52, and other conspirators from Virginia, D.C., and Maryland, used a messaging app private group, which they generally referred to as "The DMV Board" or "The Board," as a place where they and their associates could discuss training fighting dogs, exchange videos about dogfighting, and arrange and coordinate dog fights, away from the view of law enforcement authorities. Members of The DMV Board also used the messaging app to compare methods of killing dogs that lost fights, as well as to circulate media reports about conspirators who had been caught by law enforcement and discuss methods to minimize the likelihood that they would be caught themselves.

According to court documents, in November 2015, Thorne told another conspirator that Thorne made a lot of money from charging admission to dog fights that he held for years at a warehouse off Kenilworth Avenue in the District of Columbia. Thorne further said that he had a fighting dog that killed six other dogs in less than a year. 

Further, according to court documents, in December 2016, Garcia sold a fighting dog to another individual involved in dogfighting for $1700. In March 2017, upon the arrest of another individual involved in the fights, Garcia instructed one of his co-conspirators on how to delete the messages on the DMV Board without deleting the group from the messaging app.

In June 2017, Thorne posted to the DMV Board that the most he had ever won in one fight was $15,000. In January 2019, Thorne posted to the DMV Board that his “Darkside Kennels” had been around for over 20 years. On July 30, 2019, Thorne possessed at his residence dogfighting paraphernalia and nine pitbull-type dogs, many with scarring patterns and lacerations consistent with dogfighting. When questioned by law enforcement agents, Thorne denied any involvement ever in dogfighting, and said that he did not know that there were nine dogs tied up in his backyard.

According to court documents, on or about June 28, 2020, Garcia posted on the DMV Board a narrative of a fight between dogs, one of which was conditioned and handled by Garcia himself. Garcia notified the DMV Board that his dog was the winner, after his opponent’s dog stopped moving at 32 minutes into the fight.

In August, Garcia, Thorne, and four others were indicted for a dogfighting conspiracy involving the “DMV Board.” Earlier this month, three other conspirators pleaded guilty to the same dogfighting conspiracy. Garcia and Thorne are each scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2023. Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon Kromberg and Cristina Stam are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-154.      

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man pleaded guilty yesterday to the unlawful purchase and possession of a firearm that was used in three community shootings.

According to court documents, Khalil Rashad Armstrong, 21, asked his older cousin to purchase a handgun for Armstrong. Only 20 years old at the time, Armstrong was not old enough to purchase a handgun himself. Armstrong gave his cousin the money to purchase the firearm and selected the make and model. Around February 21, 2021, Armstrong’s cousin made false oral and written statements to a local licensed firearm dealer in order to straw-purchase the firearm for Armstrong. The firearm was recovered by police on July 27, 2021, at the crime scene of a local rival gang shootout approximately 125 days after it was purchased. Forensic ballistics confirmed the firearm had been used in two other shootings, once on May 2, 2021, resulting in property damage, and once on February 21, 2021, the same day it was purchased.

On May 12, Armstrong’s cousin and co-defendant, Destiny Na’iymah Davis, 23, of Newport News, pleaded guilty to her role in the unlawful straw-purchase of the firearm. She faces a maximum of 5 years in prison when sentenced on December 5.

Armstrong pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30, 2023. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on the first charge and a maximum of 15 years in prison on the second. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Steve R. Drew, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wilson Hanes accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Osyf is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-12.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Surprise, Arizona, man pleaded guilty yesterday to production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, from summer of 2021 through March 2022, Elliott Velez, 38, used social media platforms to engage in sexually graphic conversations with girls under the age of 18. During these conversations with the victims, Velez would instruct them to engage in sexually explicit conduct, take photos or videos, and send them to him. Velez would give explicit instructions on what he wanted them to do and who he wanted them to do it with, including other underage individuals. Velez would use a recording device on his phone to ensure that he could keep these videos and images without the victim’s knowledge. Velez is an active duty servicemember who was located in Newport News during the time of his conduct.

Velez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22, 2023. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison per count, not necessarily consecutively. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon Heath is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Child Exploitation Task Force (NCETF), as part of Project Safe Childhood. The NCETF is composed of FBI agents and detectives from the Chesapeake Police Department, Hampton Police Division, and Newport News Police Department. Assistance in this matter was also provided by federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children. Tips regarding child exploitation can be provided to the task force at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-28.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man was sentenced today to 4 years in prison for possessing a firearm as a felon.

According to court documents, in March 2021, Thomas Liddle, 28, and a co-conspirator made death threats to a Norfolk Police Detective/FBI Task Force Officer (TFO) and his family. Specifically, Liddle and his co-conspirator sent text messages to the TFO’s cell phone threatening to kill him, his wife, and his family. The messages indicated the conspirators knew where the TFO lived and worked. The TFO also received threatening calls.

In December 2021, there was an arrest warrant for Liddle for failing to appear in court. The Norfolk Police Department (NPD) received a tip concerning Liddle’s location. NPD observed Liddle in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle. When Liddle was being arrested, officers observed a firearm in the pocket of Liddle’s pants. Liddle had been previously convicted in 2014 in Norfolk of robbery, burglary, and use of a firearm, thereby making his possession of a firearm illegal. After the arrest, Liddle admitted he was present when the threatening calls were made to the TFO and admitted he identified the TFO for his conspirator to make the threats.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ramin Fatehi, Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Michael Goldsmith, Interim Chief of Norfolk Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham M. Stolle and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe DePadilla prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-11.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today the seizure of seven domain names used in a recent cryptocurrency confidence crime, known as “pig butchering.”

In pig butchering schemes, scammers encounter victims on dating apps, social media websites, or even random texts masquerading as a wrong number. Scammers initiate relationships with victims and slowly gain their trust, eventually introducing the idea of making a business investment using cryptocurrency. Victims are then directed to other members of the scam syndicate running fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms, where victims are persuaded to invest money. Once the money is sent to the fake investment app, the scammer vanishes, taking all the money with them, often resulting in significant losses for the victim. And that is exactly what happened in this instance.

According to court records, from at least May through August 2022, scammers induced five victims in the United States by using the seven seized domains, which were all spoofed domains of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange. The term “spoofed” refers to domain spoofing and involves a cyberattack in which fraudsters or hackers seek to persuade individuals that a web address or email belongs to a legitimate and generally trusted company, when in fact it links the user to a false site controlled by a cybercriminal. The scammers — using the confidence-building techniques described above — convinced the victims that they were investing in a legitimate cryptocurrency opportunity. After the victims transferred investments into the deposit addresses that the scammers provided through the seven seized domain names, the victims’ funds were immediately transferred through numerous private wallets and swapping services in an effort to conceal the source of the funds. In total, the victims lost over $10 million.

If you believe you are a victim, please contact CryptoFraud@SecretService.gov or IC3.gov to file a report. Please provide detailed information in your report, including any purported investment websites visited, telephone numbers, email accounts, and social media profiles used by scammers, and any cryptocurrency addresses, transaction hashes, and dates of transactions. Your responses are voluntary. Based on the information provided, you may be contacted by the United States Secret Service or other law enforcement entity and asked to provide additional information. This office cannot act as your attorney or provide you with legal advice. However, you may seek the advice of an attorney with respect to this or other related legal matters.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; William Mancino, Special Agent in Charge, Criminal Investigative Division of the U.S. Secret Service; and Matthew Stohler, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, announced the seizure of the domain names.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annie Zanobini, Zoe Bedell, and Carina A. Cuellar. Georgiana L. MacDonald of the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) provided substantial assistance in this action.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-sw-596.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to life in prison for attempted sex trafficking of a minor under 14 years old.

According to court documents, in May, Christafer Douglas Friend, 32, attempted to initiate sexual contact online with someone he believed to be a female minor. Friend detailed the sexual acts that he would engage with the minor in and offered to pay $200 an hour for access to her. Just a few hours after initiating the chat, Friend arrived at a pre-determined location with the supposed minor’s favorite candy and paid the $200 to another individual who he believed had access to the girl.

In the same chats he had earlier, Friend also bragged about having sexually abused an eight-year-old child, on several occasions. Federal agents later located images and videos of that abuse in Friend’s online storage account. Friend also possessed thousands of images of other minors being sexually abused.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Gantt prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-42.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A doctor licensed in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere was sentenced today to 3 years for writing and referring compounded drug prescriptions in return for illegal kickback payments. The doctor previously entered into a civil settlement with the Government that requires him and the company he owned to pay $3.1 million.

According to court documents, Dr. Thomas Raley, Jr., 53, of Baltimore, Maryland, was a physician specializing in orthopedic surgery, spine surgery, and comprehensive pain management services, who has practiced in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere since 1998. Raley was also the owner of a medical practice, which had offices in both Virginia and Maryland. In 2013, Raley and Seth Michael Myers, 53, of Crystal Lake, Illinois, began soliciting pharmacists to pay them kickbacks in return for Raley referring expensive compounded medications to the pharmacies.

Raley’s first illegal kickback arrangement was with Michael Beatty, 53, of Finksburg, Maryland, who worked as a licensed pharmacist at Fallston Pharmacy in Fallston, Maryland. From in and around the spring or summer of 2013 to the summer of 2014, Raley and Myers conspired with Beatty to receive kickbacks for Raley’s referral of expensive compounded medications, which were billed to federal health care benefit programs, such as TRICARE, Medicare, and Medicaid. Ultimately, Raley was unhappy with his arrangement with Beatty because he did not find it lucrative enough.

Raley chose to pursue other more lucrative illegal kickback arrangements. In and around late 2013, he met with Mohamed Abdalla, 48, of Allendale, New Jersey, who owned multiple pharmacies in northern Virginia, including Medex Health Pharmacy in Falls Church and Royal Care Pharmacy in Fairfax. Then, in and around May 2014, Raley, Myers, and Abdalla cemented their illegal kickback arrangement. As part of this arrangement, Raley agreed to refer expensive compounded medications to Abdalla’s pharmacies and in return Abdalla agreed to pay Raley 80% of the resulting profit. Over the course of 18 months, Abdalla paid Raley approximately $2.5 million in illegal kickback payments.

Further, Raley used his illegal proceeds to fund his and his family’s lifestyle. For instance, he directed Myers to make his wife a salaried employee of the company that was setup to collect the illegal kickback payments. Raley’s wife was provided a salary of $200,000 and the company also used the illegal proceeds to pay for his wife’s lease of a Mercedes. Raley also directed Myers to have the company write him a $280,000 check, which purported to be a loan—but was never repaid— so that Raley could purchase a building in Baltimore. Finally, illegal kickback proceeds were also used to pay tuition at the private school attended by Raley’s children. 

In a parallel civil resolution, Raley and Advanced Spine and Pain, PLLC, owned by Raley at the time, jointly paid $3,159,378.51 to settle civil claims under the False Claims Act, the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, and common law remedies.

For their role in conspiring with Raley, Myers was sentenced to two years in prison and Beatty was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. For his role in conspiring with Raley and others, Abdalla was sentenced to four years in prison.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Christopher Dillard, Special Agent in Charge for the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and George Scavdis, Special Agent in Charge, Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton..

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carina A. Cuellar and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Monika Moore prosecuted the criminal case. The civil matter was handled by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilene Albala and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard Mene. Assistant Attorney General Airen Adamonis of the Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit handled the matter for Virginia Medicaid claims.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-246.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on April 11, Ajee Whitter, a.k.a. “Glockz,” 28, was arrested during an undercover narcotics operation conducted by Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD). During his arrest, Whitter threw into the back of a vehicle a bag which contained a 9mm semiautomatic “ghost gun” loaded with a 50-round drum magazine, along with another loaded stick magazine. The two magazines were found to contain a total of 56 rounds of ammunition. Review of Whitter’s “professorglockz” Instagram account revealed numerous pictures of Whitter in possession of the gun.

Ghost guns are firearms bearing no serial number that are typically homemade or home assembled. Whitter was previously convicted of felony robbery in Prince William County and is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

Whitter is scheduled to be sentenced on February 23, 2023. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff accepted the plea.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Hahn is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-195.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to six and a half years in prison for possessing multiple firearms in furtherance of a cocaine-distribution operation.

According to court documents, since at least March 2021, Dillard Jamar Booker, 46, engaged in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of cocaine in the city of Newport News. After conducting a series of controlled narcotics purchases during which Booker sold cocaine to a confidential source, law enforcement officers obtained and executed a search warrant for Booker’s residence. Multiple firearms were recovered from the residence, to include a reportedly stolen AR-15 style rifle, along with almost 15 grams of crack cocaine and evidence that Booker was manufacturing and distributing cocaine.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and, Christopher Amon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Homer prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-34.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Today a Forestville, Maryland, man pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in dogfighting. 

According to court documents, from at least May 2015 through August 2020, Laron Mecco “Frog” West, 46, and other conspirators from Virginia, D.C., and Maryland, used a messaging app private group, which they generally referred to as "The DMV Board" or "The Board," as a place where they and their associates could discuss training fighting dogs, exchange videos about dogfighting, and arrange and coordinate dog fights, away from the view of law enforcement authorities. Members of The DMV Board also used the messaging app to compare methods of killing dogs that lost fights, as well as to circulate media reports about conspirators who had been caught by law enforcement and discuss methods to minimize the likelihood that they would be caught themselves.

According to court documents, in June 2017, West posted on the DMV Board that “we kill” fighting dogs that quit. In October 2018, West posted on the DMV Board that dogs that failed to fight aggressively enough had been killed. West wrote that he “loves to throw [the dogs] over the bridge and into the water.”

Court documents further reflect that, in March 2018, West drove coconspirator Charles Edward Williams, III, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, to a warehouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Williams entered his dog into a dogfight attended by dozens of people. In November 2018, Williams warned members of the DMV Board to be sure to confirm the death of the dogs that they try to kill upon losing a fight.

In April 2019, Williams and coconspirator Michael Roy Hilliard, 37, of Fort Washington, drove to Bunnlevel, North Carolina, with a dog belonging to Williams, so that he could enter the dog in a dog fight. The fight lasted less than 10 minutes before being won by the dog belonging to Williams. An unindicted conspirator shot and killed the dog that lost the fight.

In August, West, Williams, Hilliard, and four others were indicted for a dogfighting conspiracy involving the “DMV Board.” Earlier this month, Williams and Hilliard pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy as West. Trial for three of the remaining defendants is set for December 6.

West, Williams, and Hilliard are each scheduled to be sentenced on February 21, 2023. Each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.

Significant assistance was provided by The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cristina Stam and Gordon Kromberg are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-154.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Fairfax man was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for attempted production of and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, Brian Scott McGalem, 24, repeatedly engaged in sexually explicit discussions with at least six minors where he attempted to persuade several of the victims to produce sexually explicit pictures of themselves and send them to him. At least three of the minor victims were under the age of 12 at the time of the offense. During these discussions, which took place on several social media platforms under the monikers “Random Hipster#2429” and “Sircoolbeans,” McGalem attempted to groom and entice the minors to record themselves engaging in sexually explicit activity and he sent some of the minors sexually explicit images of himself. Moreover, McGalem’s electronic devices contained several images and videos of child sexual abuse material.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Keim and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Kramer prosecuted the case.

The Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, continues to attempt to identify additional victims. Anyone with information regarding these crimes is encouraged to e-mail the HSI Tip Line: www.ice.gov/tips or by calling: 1-866-DHS-2-ICE. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE.UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-48.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Centreville man pleaded guilty today to defrauding customers who hired his company to build or remodel their residences.

According to court documents, from at least May 2017 through about April 2018, Pedro Felipe Valdes Sanchez, 57, devised and executed a scheme to defraud homeowners in and around McLean. Valdes contracted with several couples to build custom homes for them at a fixed price. He induced his customers to make payments to him by falsely representing that he would use the money to perform specific work on the customers’ properties. In the end, Valdes performed minimal work on these customers’ homes, sometimes only demolishing the existing residence on the customers’ property. Valdes also convinced one customer to lend him money by misrepresenting his company’s financial situation. He sometimes used client funds for personal expenses and routinely used funds from one client to fund another client’s projects.

Valdes is scheduled to be sentenced on February 14, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heidi B. Gesch and Russell L. Carlberg are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-194.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Fredericksburg man pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to obtain pandemic unemployment benefits. His family members were also indicted for their roles in the scheme, along with a separate mail theft and bank fraud scheme.  

According to court documents, from in or about May 2020 through in or about January 2022, Eric Wilhoit, II, 28, conspired with his siblings, Odyssey Wilhoit, 23, and Jeremiah Wilhoit, 26, and cousin, Dejhaun Wilhoit, 26, to obtain pandemic unemployment benefits. Yesterday, Eric Wilhoit pleaded guilty and admitted that he applied for pandemic unemployment benefits in his name and in the names of others, many who were identity theft victims. He also admitted that he falsely represented, among other things, the applicants’ work history and that they lost their employment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of yesterday’s plea, Eric Wilhoit admitted that he instructed his coconspirators on how to make the claims and used VPNs and false or anonymized email addresses in an attempt to hide the fraud. Additionally, he admitted that he recruited others so as to use their physical addresses to receive the prepaid debit cards that contained the unemployment benefits. Eric Wilhoit admitted that he and his coconspirators made significant cash withdrawals and bought luxury goods with the benefits. Specifically, Eric Wilhoit purchased a diamond ring among other things. Eric Wilhoit admitted that the associated loss was somewhere between $550,000 and $3,500,0000.

While attempting to flee his arrest, Eric Wilhoit led law enforcement on a high-speed chase, resulting in him crashing his car with his minor children in the backseat.

In addition to alleging that Odyssey Wilhoit, Jeremiah Wilhoit, and Dejhaun Wilhoitm engaged in this pandemic unemployment benefits scheme, the indictment also alleges Odyssey Wilhoit conspired with Jaleai Morrison, 23, of Temple, Georgia, in a separate mail theft and bank fraud scheme. Morrison pleaded guilty on November 7 to participating in this scheme. According to court documents, Morrison would steal checks from a U.S. postal collection box and provide the checks or personal information from the checks to Odyssey Wilhoit. Odyssey Wilhoit then allegedly used the information to create counterfeit checks, which she would then deposit into bank accounts. After her conspiracy with Morrison ended, it is alleged that Odyssey Wilhoit continued her bank fraud scheme through at least July 2022.

Eric Wilhoit and Morrison are scheduled to be sentenced on January 25, 2023. Eric Wilhoit faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Morrison faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.  If convicted, Odyssey Wilhoit, Jeremiah Wilhoit, and Dejhaun Wilhoit face a mandatory minimum of 2 years and maximum penalty of 30 years. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police; Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Troy Springer, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, DC Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the plea.

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police provided assistance in this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Shartar and Christopher Hood are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-191.

An indictment is merely an accusation. Odyssey Wilhoit, Jeremiah Wilhoit, and Dejhaun Wilhoit are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Upper Marlboro, Maryland woman was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to distribute over seven kilograms of fentanyl.

According to court documents, between January 2018 and February 2021, Ericka Oliver, 34, and others would obtain kilogram quantities of fentanyl from various sources of supply. The group would then use a pill press to manufacture thousands of counterfeit prescription pills resembling legitimate pain medications, such as Oxycodone. In actuality, the pills contained fentanyl and other cutting agents. The group would then distribute the pills to redistributors and users in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for profit.

In June of 2020, during a court-authorized search of a coconspirator’s residence in Arlington, law enforcement seized pill manufacturing materials along with over seven kilograms of fentanyl in both pill and raw form, along with a loaded AK-47 semi-automatic firearm and $34,828 in U.S. currency. Upon her arrest in February 2021, law enforcement also obtained court authorization to search Oliver’s hotel room where an additional $58,960 in U.S. currency and high-end jewelry were seized. At Oliver’s residence, law enforcement located an additional 504 pressed pills containing fentanyl, cutting agents, and $6,500 in U.S. currency among other items.

Oliver is the fifth member of the conspiracy to be sentenced. Cornelius Frazier, 33, of Arlington, received a sentence of 151 months’ imprisonment; Kyle Bouldin, 31, of Woodbridge, received a sentence of 72 months’ imprisonment; Brandon Williams, 29, of Spotsylvania, received a sentence of 125 months’ imprisonment; and Taurean Venable, 37, of Arlington, received a sentence of 120 months’ imprisonment for their respective roles.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; Andy Penn, Arlington County Chief of Police; Don Hayes, Alexandria Chief of Police; and David Huchler, Chief of Police, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bibeane Metsch and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Roberts prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-39.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Five members of the transnational street gang La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, have received sentences of life imprisonment for their roles in the kidnapping and murder of two adolescent boys in 2016.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, MS-13 gang members Elmer Zelaya Martinez, Ronald Herrera Contreras, Henry Zelaya Martinez, Pablo Velasco Barrera, and Duglas Ramirez Ferrera, along with their co-conspirators, targeted E.E.E.M., a 17-year-old resident of Falls Church, who they erroneously suspected was a member of the rival 18th Street gang. On the night of August 28, 2016, the gang lured E.E.E.M. to Holmes Run Stream Valley Park in Fairfax County under the pretense that there was going to be a gang meeting there. Instead, in a wooded area of the park, gang members restrained, attacked, and killed E.E.E.M., stabbing and chopping him more than 100 times with knives, a machete, and a pickaxe. Afterwards, the gang broke one of E.E.E.M.’s legs so that his body would fit into the pre-dug hole that was nearby.

Court records and evidence presented at trial also established that the same gang members, along with their co-conspirators, targeted S.A.A.T., a 14-year-old resident of Alexandria, who they erroneously suspected was a police informant. On the evening of September 26, 2016, the gang told S.A.A.T. that there was going to be a gang meeting later that night and encouraged him to attend. Not long thereafter, S.A.A.T. went outside in his pajamas, telling his mother he was just taking out the trash. Eventually, several gang members picked up S.A.A.T. and drove him to the same park where they had killed E.E.E.M. The gang members restrained, attacked, and killed S.A.A.T., stabbing and chopping him with knives, machetes, and a pickaxe. They also filmed the murder with a cell phone so that they could prove to gang leaders in the United States and in El Salvador that they deserved to be promoted in rank. Once S.A.A.T. was dead, the gang broke his legs and tied him up with his own pajama pants so that he would fit into the shallow grave that was dug for him that night.

“Words alone are incapable of describing the tragedy and senselessness that mark this case. Mere proximity to MS-13 and its twisted code cost two unassuming teenage boys their lives. In the wake of their appallingly violent murders lie wrecked families and fear-stricken communities,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The sentences of life imprisonment imposed by the court are fitting; they will protect the public from these five defendants, send a message to other members and associates of MS-13 that there will be severe consequences for committing violent crimes in furtherance of their gang’s illicit activities, and provide a measure of justice for the victims and their families. EDVA remains steadfast in its commitment to prosecuting members of street gangs and deterring acts of violence perpetrated in their name.”

“Brutality is the hallmark of MS-13. The defendants kidnapped and murdered two innocent teenagers, shattering their dreams and stoking fear in the communities we live and work in," said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal and Cyber Division. “This joint investigation demonstrates the FBI and our law enforcement partners' refusal to tolerate violent gang members who terrorize our neighborhoods and ruthlessly murder rival gang members and innocent civilians.”

“This is a profoundly disturbing case involving gang members taking the lives of young members of our community. We are proud to work with our Federal partners on cases like this to keep Fairfax County and surrounding communities safe,” said Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police.

To date, a total of 17 defendants have been charged in this case, five of whom went to trial and were convicted of all charges. Nine defendants pleaded guilty prior to trial. See the table below for additional information on the defendants who were convicted at trial.

Name

Age

Country of Origin

Convictions

Sentence

Elmer Zelaya Martinez

31

El Salvador

Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death

Sentenced to six terms of life imprisonment and two terms of 120 months, all to run concurrently

Ronald Herrera Contreras

24

El Salvador

Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death

Sentenced to six terms of life imprisonment and two terms of 120 months, all to run concurrently

Henry Zelaya Martinez

28

El Salvador

Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death

Sentenced to six terms of life imprisonment and two terms of 120 months, all to run concurrently

Pablo Velasco Barrera

24

El Salvador

Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death

Sentenced to six terms of life imprisonment and two terms of 120 months, all to run concurrently

Duglas Ramirez Ferrera

26

El Salvador

Conspiracy to commit kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering activity; conspiracy to kidnap; murder in aid of racketeering activity; kidnapping resulting in death

Sentenced to six terms of life imprisonment and two terms of 120 months, all to run concurrently

 

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr.

The FBI Washington Field Office, the Fairfax County Police Department, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Washington Field Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Alexandria Police Department, the Prince William County Police Department, the Montgomery County (MD) Police Department, and the Marin County (CA) Sheriff’s Office provided significant assistance on the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Blanchard and Cristina C. Stam and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebeca H. Bellows prosecuted the case.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-123.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A U.S. citizen was sentenced to 20 years in prison today in the Eastern District of Virginia for organizing and leading an all-female military battalion in Syria on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents, Allison Fluke-Ekren, aka “Allison Ekren,” aka “Umm Mohammed al-Amriki,” and aka “Umm Mohammed,” 42, a former resident of Kansas, traveled overseas and, from in or about September 2011 through in or about May 2019, engaged in terrorist acts in multiple countries, including Syria, Libya, and Iraq. Fluke-Ekren ultimately served as the leader and organizer of an ISIS military battalion, known as the Khatiba Nusaybah, where she trained women on the use of automatic firing AK-47 assault rifles, grenades, and suicide belts. Over 100 women and young girls, some as young as 10-years-old, received military training from Fluke-Ekren in Syria on behalf of ISIS.

During the sentencing hearing, the Court incorporated into the record two separate letters submitted by Fluke-Ekren’s adult daughter and adult son, both of whom wrote about being abused by Fluke-Ekren, beginning in Kansas and continuing overseas when they were minors. The government also played audio recordings of January 2021 phone conversations between Fluke-Ekren and her daughter, where she instructed her to delete messages shared between them to ensure Fluke-Ekren could continue to evade capture in Syria, and encouraged her daughter to leave the U.S. and return to Syria. Additionally, Fluke- Ekren’s adult daughter delivered a victim impact statement in court today describing the severe abuse that Fluke-Ekren inflicted upon her in Syria, including coercing her to marry an ISIS fighter, who then raped her, when she was only 13 years old. Fluke-Ekren’s adult son also delivered a statement in court describing attempts by Fluke-Ekren to convince him to leave the U.S. and travel to Syria to prevent him from approaching authorities with any information that could compromise her.

In or around 2008, Fluke-Ekren departed the United States and moved to Egypt with her second husband, a now-deceased former member of the terrorist organization Ansar al-Sharia. Fluke-Ekren resided in Egypt until in or around 2011, at which point she moved to Libya. Near the end of 2011, Fluke-Ekren resided with her second husband, among others, in Benghazi, Libya. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission and CIA Annex in Benghazi, Fluke-Ekren’s second husband claimed that he removed at least one box of documents and at least one electronic device from the U.S. compound in Benghazi. He brought the items to the residence where he resided with Fluke-Ekren and others at that time. Fluke-Ekren assisted her second husband with reviewing and summarizing the contents of the stolen U.S. government documents. The stolen documents and electronic device, along with the summaries that Fluke-Ekren helped prepare, were provided to the leadership of Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi.

In or around late 2012, Fluke-Ekren, her second husband, and others traveled from Libya to Turkey. Shortly thereafter, they traveled from Turkey to Syria. After approximately six weeks, Fluke-Ekren returned to Turkey while her second husband remained in Syria. Fluke-Ekren’s second husband ascended through the ranks of ISIS and ultimately became the “emir” (leader) of ISIS snipers in Syria. In or around mid-2014, Fluke-Ekren and others were smuggled back into Syria. While residing in Syria, Fluke-Ekren told a witness about her desire to conduct an attack in the United States. To conduct the attack, Fluke-Ekren explained that she could go to a shopping mall in the United States, park a vehicle full of explosives in the basement or parking garage level of the structure, and detonate the explosives in the vehicle with a cell phone triggering device. Fluke-Ekren also spoke about learning how to make bombs and explosives. Fluke-Ekren further said that she considered any attack that did not kill a large number of individuals to be a waste of resources. Fluke-Ekren would hear about external attacks taking place in countries outside the United States and would comment that she wished the attack had occurred on United States soil instead.

In 2014, ISIS officials sent a female member of ISIS, who traveled from Central America, to Ablah, Syria, where she resided in an adjoining residence to Fluke-Ekren for approximately 18 days. This witness visited Fluke-Ekren at her residence in Syria on multiple occasions. During those visits, Fluke-Ekren discussed ideas for an attack involving the use of explosives on the campus of a U.S.-based college in the Midwest. 

In or around 2015, Fluke-Ekren, her second husband, and others moved from Syria to Mosul, Iraq, where they temporarily resided inside an ISIS-controlled compound within the University of Mosul. When Fluke-Ekren arrived in Mosul, she met with ISIS personnel who were in charge of homes for widowed women whose husbands died while fighting for ISIS. Fluke-Ekren assisted the ISIS personnel by providing ideas for how the homes should function and operate.

In or around mid-2016, Fluke-Ekren led and organized an effort to establish a Women’s Center in Raqqa, Syria. Fluke-Ekren obtained authorization from the “Wali,” the ISIS-appointed mayor of Raqqa, in order to establish the Center. There, Fluke-Ekren and others provided medical services, educational services about the Islamic State, child care, and various training to women and young girls. As the Center’s leader, Fluke-Ekren also provided and assisted other female ISIS members in providing training to numerous women and young girls on the use of automatic firing AK-47 assault rifles, grenades, and explosive suicide belts.

In or around late 2016, the ISIS “Wali” of Raqqa approved the creation of the “Khatiba Nusaybah” – a military battalion to be comprised solely of female ISIS members. The Khatiba Nusaybah began operations on behalf of the terrorist organization in or around February 2017. Fluke-Ekren’s main objective as the leader and organizer of the Khatiba Nusaybah battalion was to teach female ISIS members how to defend themselves against ISIS’s enemies, including helping male fighters defend ISIS-controlled Raqqa. Fluke-Ekren sought to motivate her trainees by explaining how female fighters can ensure the Islamic State is kept alive by “helping ISIS expand and to remain” through the use of weapons, including automatic firing AK-47 assault rifles, grenades, and suicide belts packed with explosives. In addition, witnesses with first-hand knowledge stated that the Khatiba Nusaybah also provided certain members with instruction on physical training ­including martial arts, medical training, VBIED driving courses, ISIS religious classes, and how to pack and prep a “go bag” with rifles and other military supplies.

In 2018, Fluke-Ekren informed another witness that she had instructed an individual in Syria to send a message to one of her family members stating that Fluke-Ekren was dead so that the U.S. government would not attempt to locate her. Fluke-Ekren informed this same witness that it was important to kill the “kuffar” (disbelievers) and die as martyrs on behalf of ISIS in Syria. Fluke-Ekren was located outside the United States since on or about January 8, 2011, until she was transferred in custody to the Eastern District of Virginia on January 28, 2022.    

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; and Steven M. D’Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

First Assistant United States Attorney Raj Parekh and Assistant United States Attorney John Gibbs from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case, with assistance from the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-92.

A U.S. citizen was sentenced to 20 years in prison today in the Eastern District of Virginia for organizing and leading an all-female military battalion in Syria on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents, Allison Fluke-Ekren, aka Allison Ekren, aka Umm Mohammed al-Amriki, and aka Umm Mohammed, 42, a former resident of Kansas, traveled overseas and, from in or about September 2011 through in or about May 2019, engaged in terrorist acts in multiple countries, including Syria, Libya and Iraq. Fluke-Ekren ultimately served as the leader and organizer of an ISIS military battalion, known as the Khatiba Nusaybah, where she trained women on the use of automatic firing AK-47 assault rifles, grenades and suicide belts. Over 100 women and young girls, some as young as 10 years old, received military training from Fluke-Ekren in Syria on behalf of ISIS.

During the sentencing hearing, the Court incorporated into the record two separate letters submitted by Fluke-Ekren’s adult daughter and adult son, both of whom wrote about being abused by Fluke-Ekren, beginning in Kansas and continuing overseas when they were minors. The government also played audio recordings of January 2021 phone conversations between Fluke-Ekren and her daughter, where she instructed her to delete messages shared between them to ensure Fluke-Ekren could continue to evade capture in Syria, and encouraged her daughter to leave the United States and return to Syria. Additionally, Fluke-Ekren’s adult daughter delivered a victim impact statement in court today describing the severe abuse that Fluke-Ekren inflicted upon her in Syria, including coercing her to marry an ISIS fighter, who then raped her, when she was only 13 years old. Fluke-Ekren’s adult son also delivered a statement in court describing attempts by Fluke-Ekren to convince him to leave the United States and travel to Syria to prevent him from approaching authorities with any information that could compromise her.

In or around 2008, Fluke-Ekren departed the United States and moved to Egypt with her second husband, a now-deceased former member of the terrorist organization Ansar al-Sharia. Fluke-Ekren resided in Egypt until in or around 2011, at which point she moved to Libya. Near the end of 2011, Fluke-Ekren resided with her second husband, among others, in Benghazi, Libya. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission and CIA Annex in Benghazi, Fluke-Ekren’s second husband claimed that he removed at least one box of documents and at least one electronic device from the U.S. compound in Benghazi. He brought the items to the residence where he resided with Fluke-Ekren and others at that time. Fluke-Ekren assisted her second husband with reviewing and summarizing the contents of the stolen U.S. government documents. The stolen documents and electronic device, along with the summaries that Fluke-Ekren helped prepare, were provided to the leadership of Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi.

In or around late 2012, Fluke-Ekren, her second husband and others traveled from Libya to Turkey. Shortly thereafter, they traveled from Turkey to Syria. After approximately six weeks, Fluke-Ekren returned to Turkey while her second husband remained in Syria. Fluke-Ekren’s second husband ascended through the ranks of ISIS and ultimately became the “emir” (leader) of ISIS snipers in Syria. In or around mid-2014, Fluke-Ekren and others were smuggled back into Syria. While residing in Syria, Fluke-Ekren told a witness about her desire to conduct an attack in the United States. To conduct the attack, Fluke-Ekren explained that she could go to a shopping mall in the United States, park a vehicle full of explosives in the basement or parking garage level of the structure,and detonate the explosives in the vehicle with a cell phone triggering device. Fluke-Ekren also spoke about learning how to make bombs and explosives. Fluke-Ekren further said that she considered any attack that did not kill a large number of individuals to be a waste of resources. Fluke-Ekren would hear about external attacks taking place in countries outside the United States and would comment that she wished the attack had occurred on United States soil instead.

In 2014, ISIS officials sent a female member of ISIS, who traveled from Central America, to Ablah, Syria, where she resided in an adjoining residence to Fluke-Ekren for approximately 18 days. This witness visited Fluke-Ekren at her residence in Syria on multiple occasions. During those visits, Fluke-Ekren discussed ideas for an attack involving the use of explosives on the campus of a U.S.-based college in the Midwest. 

In or around 2015, Fluke-Ekren, her second husband and others moved from Syria to Mosul, Iraq, where they temporarily resided inside an ISIS-controlled compound within the University of Mosul. When Fluke-Ekren arrived in Mosul, she met with ISIS personnel who were in charge of homes for widowed women whose husbands died while fighting for ISIS. Fluke-Ekren assisted the ISIS personnel by providing ideas for how the homes should function and operate.

In or around mid-2016, Fluke-Ekren led and organized an effort to establish a Women’s Center in Raqqa, Syria. Fluke-Ekren obtained authorization from the “Wali,” the ISIS-appointed mayor of Raqqa, in order to establish the Center. There, Fluke-Ekren and others provided medical services, educational services about the Islamic State, childcare and various training to women and young girls. As the Center’s leader, Fluke-Ekren also provided and assisted other female ISIS members in providing training to numerous women and young girls on the use of automatic firing AK-47 assault rifles, grenades and explosive suicide belts.

In or around late 2016, the ISIS “Wali” of Raqqa approved the creation of the “Khatiba Nusaybah” – a military battalion to be comprised solely of female ISIS members. The Khatiba Nusaybah began operations on behalf of the terrorist organization in or around February 2017. Fluke-Ekren’s main objective as the leader and organizer of the Khatiba Nusaybah battalion was to teach female ISIS members how to defend themselves against ISIS’s enemies, including helping male fighters defend ISIS-controlled Raqqa. Fluke-Ekren sought to motivate her trainees by explaining how female fighters can ensure the Islamic State is kept alive by “helping ISIS expand and to remain” through the use of weapons, including automatic firing AK-47 assault rifles, grenades and suicide belts packed with explosives. In addition, witnesses with first-hand knowledge stated that the Khatiba Nusaybah also provided certain members with instruction on physical training ­including martial arts, medical training, VBIED driving courses, ISIS religious classes and how to pack and prep a “go bag” with rifles and other military supplies.

In 2018, Fluke-Ekren informed another witness that she had instructed an individual in Syria to send a message to one of her family members stating that Fluke-Ekren was dead so that the U.S. government would not attempt to locate her. Fluke-Ekren informed this same witness that it was important to kill the “kuffar” (disbelievers) and die as martyrs on behalf of ISIS in Syria. Fluke-Ekren was located outside the United States since on or about Jan. 8, 2011, until she was transferred in custody to the Eastern District of Virginia on Jan. 28, 2022.     

U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; and Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gibbs for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case, with assistance from the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Fredericksburg man was sentenced yesterday to 18 years in prison for distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute high-grade methamphetamine.

According to court documents, between October 19, 2021, and November 10, 2021, Briceton Grant, 36, distributed or possessed with the intent to distribute approximately 8 pounds—nearly four kilograms—of methamphetamine having purity levels well in excess of 90%. This grade of methamphetamine is referred to as “Ice” or “Crystal Meth” and is often manufactured in super labs outside of the United States. In addition to the methamphetamine, at the time of his arrest, Grant was also in possession of 90 pills containing fentanyl, three grams of cocaine, and $4,590 in United States currency.  

Grant was named in a four-count criminal indictment that was returned by a Richmond federal grand jury on June 7 and entered a guilty plea on June 21 to one count of distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Richmond Field Office; and Brian Layton, Chief of Fredericksburg Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak.

This case was investigated by the FBI Richmond’s Fredericksburg Regional Narcotics Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-078.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – On October 24, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held Management Consulting, Inc. (Mancon), located in Virginia Beach, strictly liable under the Anti-Kickback Act and ordered it to pay a $1,088,803 civil penalty. 

The United States filed a civil complaint against Mancon to recover a civil penalty under the strict liability provision of the Anti-Kickback Act. From 2008 to 2015, Mancon served as a prime contractor for the United States’ Wounded Warrior Program. From 2012 to 2015, the subcontractor that Mancon selected to work on its prime contracts accepted $1,088,803 in kickbacks from a lower-tier subcontractor in exchange for work on Mancon’s prime government contracts. The United States previously recovered $4.3 million from Mancon’s subcontractor to resolve False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Act claims related to the kickback scheme on Mancon’s Wounded Warrior contracts and other prime government contracts.

The Court held that Mancon, as a prime contractor, was strictly liable for a civil penalty equal to the value of the kickbacks paid and accepted by its subcontractors on the Wounded Warrior contracts.  The Court also held that this penalty was constitutional, and that the penalty was not subject to an offset based on the United States’ prior recoveries from Mancon’s subcontractors.

This litigation was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia; the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office; U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Major Procurement Fraud Field Office; and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

The case was litigated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Hochul III and Kristin Starr.  

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cv-890.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted an Alexandria man today on charges of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, reckless driving, and speeding.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on April 8, 2022, Menyelek M. Maynard, 26, was driving his white Toyota Camry on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, at over 100 miles per hour, in an area with a posted speed limit of 45 miles an hour. Maynard struck 20-year-old victim J.V.’s motorcycle from behind, sending J.V. flying more than 30 feet through the air. Maynard rolled his own vehicle multiple times, narrowly missing pedestrians in the Parkway’s footpath before coming to rest upside down in the Potomac River. Because of Maynard’s actions, J.V. lost his left leg below the knee, had to have steel rods inserted in both arms and his back, and lost feeling in his left arm and left side. J.V.’s life was saved by motorists who stopped to help him and the rapid response of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.

Maynard faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on January 24, 2023. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Christopher Stock, Acting Chief of U.S. Park Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the verdict.

Special thanks to the Fairfax County Police Department for their assistance in this case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Pungello and Molly Picard and Assistant U.S. Attorneys April N. Russo and Nicholas J. Patterson are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-136.

NORFOLK, Va. –A Williamsburg wellness center owner was sentenced today to 7 years in prison for defrauding Virginia Medicaid and other health care programs out of over $2 million.

According to court documents, Maria Kokolis, 48, of Williamsburg, owned and operated Pamisage, Inc., a center for integrative behavioral health and medicine, with a focus on weight management issues. Beginning in or about 2018, and continuing through February 2020, Kokolis executed a scheme to defraud and overbill various health care benefit programs and the Virginia Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid). She did so by charging 45 minutes to an hour of face-to-face psychotherapy services for noncomparable services, like sending messages through the company’s smartphone app or monitoring a client’s data. Kokolis billed these psychotherapy services for times when she was out of the country on vacation and when the clients were out of state or sick in the hospital. Kokolis also billed for months of services for people who met her one time and then never enrolled in the program. The fraudulent billing became so extensive that on 332 separate occasions, Kokolis billed for services that exceeded 24 hours in a single day.

Kokolis used the names, Medicaid ID numbers, and other identifying information of her clients in submitting these false claims to the health care benefit programs. Kokolis received a total of at least $2,202,627.77 in fraudulent health care benefit program reimbursements, a portion of which came from the U.S. government.

In a separate fraud scheme, in June 2020, Kokolis applied for a Payment Protection Program (PPP) loan falsely certifying that her monthly payroll was $25,000 and she had 6 employees, when she had only one employee and her monthly payroll was not $25,000. As a result of the false application, Kokolis received a PPP loan in the amount of $54,112.50, to which she was not entitled.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright-Allen

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph L. Kosky and Clare P. Wuerker prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-55.

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Virginia Beach man Friday on charges of possessing and selling unregistered machineguns.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, between approximately October 2021 and April 2022, Patrick Tate Adamiak, 28, was obtaining illegal machine guns that were not registered and he was selling these machine guns online. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) purchased eight machine guns from him through a confidential source. They then executed a search warrant at Adamiak’s residence and recovered 25 additional unregistered machineguns. A search warrant at his residence found that Adamiak was in possession of two grenade launchers and two antitank missile launchers. Adamiak is a Master at Arms in the U.S. Navy.

Adamiak was convicted of receiving, possessing, and transferring unregistered machineguns, and possession of four destructive devices, to include two grenade launchers and two antitank missile launchers. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 31, 2023. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each of the five counts of conviction. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Charlie J. Patterson, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Muhr and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Victoria Liu is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-47.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former Department of State employee pleaded guilty today to two counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.

According to court documents, Dean Edward Cheves, 63, was serving at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines from 2017 to 2021, during which time he met multiple minors over the internet. From December 2020 to March 2021, Cheves communicated online with a then 15- to 16-year-old Philippine minor, who he paid to produce and send to him sexually explicit images of the minor. Additionally, in February 2021, Cheves engaged in sex acts on two separate occasions with a second 16-year-old Philippine minor who he met online, using his government-issued cell phone to film the sex acts on at least one occasion. The child sex abuse material Cheves produced and received of these minors was found on devices seized from Cheves’s embassy residence in the Philippines. Cheves knew the ages of both minors at the time he engaged in the conduct.

Cheves is scheduled to be sentenced on January 20, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison on each count. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the plea.

The U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the Homeland Security Investigations Attaché’s Office in the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Pomerantz Halper and Zoe Bedell and Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-177.

A former U.S. Department of State employee pleaded guilty today to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.

According to court documents, Dean Edward Cheves, 63, was serving at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines from 2017 to 2021, during which time he met multiple minors over the internet. From December 2020 to March 2021, Cheves communicated online with a then 15 to 16-year-old Philippine minor, who he paid to produce and send to him sexually explicit images of the minor. Additionally, in February 2021, Cheves engaged in sex acts on two separate occasions with a second 16-year-old Philippine minor who he met online, using his government-issued cell phone to film himself doing so on at least one of those occasions. The child sex abuse material that Cheves produced and received of these minors were found on devices seized from Cheves’s embassy residence in the Philippines. Cheves knew the ages of both minors at the time he engaged in the conduct.

Cheves is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement.

The U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Office of Special Investigations investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the DSS Regional Security Office and the Homeland Security Investigations Attaché’s Office in the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.

Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Pomerantz Halper and Zoe Bedell for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

This case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Chesterfield man yesterday on charges of conspiracy and wire fraud.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Joshua Brian Romano, 40, owned various businesses that purchased, rehabilitated, and sold homes around Richmond. He funded this work via construction loans that were held in escrow in the trust account of a Chesterfield County law firm. The loans were earmarked for use by Romano only for the purchase of and rehabilitation of specific properties, and only with the lender’s express approval for each disbursement. Acting at Romano’s direction, Lindsey Epps Passmore, 39, a paralegal at the law firm, disbursed $1.2 million of a lender’s funds held in trust for Romano’s projects without receiving the lender’s approval or by misleading the lender about how the funds were to be used. The funds were then used for purposes outside the scope of the agreements with the lender.      

Romano faces 20 years in prison on each charge when sentenced on January 19, 2023. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Passmore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is scheduled for sentencing on November 17.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Moore is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-26.

A Virginia man pleaded guilty today to production and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, between December 2018 and April 2019, Chad Michael Lehofer, 37, of Fredericksburg, repeatedly engaged in sexually explicit discussions with a minor online, enticed and coerced the minor to produce sexually explicit pictures and videos, and directed the minor to send the pictures and videos to Lehofer. When the minor tried to break off contact with him, Lehofer pretended to be a different person and continued to communicate with the minor online under that false identity. Lehofer sent threatening messages to the minor, telling the minor that if the minor did not send him sexually explicit videos, he would expose the minor to others, including the minor’s mother and friends. Lehofer claimed to be watching the minor’s house and would send the minor messages indicating that he knew the minor’s location and that he would be waiting at the minor’s home. In response to these threats, the minor produced a sexually explicit video and sent it to Lehofer.

After obtaining a warrant to search Lehofer’s cell phone, law enforcement discovered his phone contained numerous images and videos of child sexual abuse material involving prepubescent minors. Lehofer was previously convicted in Connecticut in 2006 for state offenses involving his sexual abuse of two minors.

Lehofer is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 16, 2023. He faces a mandatory minimum of at least 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. made the announcement.

Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zoe Bedell and Lauren Halper for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Fredericksburg man pleaded guilty today to production and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, from at least December 11, 2018 through April 8, 2019, Chad Michael Lehofer, 37, repeatedly engaged in sexually explicit discussions with a minor online and enticed and coerced the minor to produce sexually explicit pictures and videos and send them to Lehofer. After the minor tried to break off contact with him, Lehofer pretended to be a different person and continued to communicate with the minor online. Lehofer sent threatening messages to the minor, telling the minor that if the minor did not send him sexually explicit videos, he would expose the minor to others, including the minor’s mother and friends. Lehofer claimed to be watching the minor’s house and would send the minor messages indicating he knew the minor’s location and he would be waiting at the minor’s home. In response to these threats, the minor produced a sexually explicit video and sent it to Lehofer.

After obtaining a warrant to search Lehofer’s cell phone, law enforcement discovered that his phone contained numerous images and videos of child sexual abuse material involving prepubescent minors. Lehofer was previously convicted in Connecticut in 2006 for state offenses involving his sexual abuse of two minors.

Lehofer is scheduled to be sentenced on February 16, 2023. He faces a mandatory minimum of at least 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., the Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division; and Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Washington, D.C., made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Nachmanoff accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zoe Bedell and Lauren Halper, as well as Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo from the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-82.

NORFOLK, Va. – An Idaho man was sentenced today to 135 months in prison for possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. 

According to court documents, from at least November 2021 through February 2022, Joel A. Duran, 53, transported massive quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine from California to several locations in the United States, including Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida, and the Hampton Roads region in Virginia. Over three cross-county trips, Duran possessed 27.9 kilograms of fentanyl— enough to potentially cause the fatal overdose of 14 million people— and 192 kilograms of methamphetamine. 

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ramin Fatehi, Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. Comstock and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Stolle prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-48.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty yesterday to production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, on March 31, the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) were jointly conducting online investigations of persons looking to engage in sexual activity with minor children. Dylan Seader, 22, started a sexually explicit chat online with an undercover law enforcement agent (UC) who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. Seader and the UC agreed to meet that night to engage in sex. That night, Seader showed up at the designated meeting spot in Virginia Beach. As discussed in the chat, Seader brought condoms with him. A subsequent forensic review of Seader’s phone by VBPD showed, in addition to the chat with the UC, he possessed images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct in his Google Photos. The analysis also showed Seader produced visual depictions of himself performing a sexual act with a toddler.

Seader is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9, 2023. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. HSI Washington, D.C.; Mack Hickman, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

In 2021, EDVA launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-69.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Baltimore man was sentenced today to 136 months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl and heroin and for selling two “ghost” guns.

According to court documents, O'Neil Gayle, a.k.a. “Pat,” 33, pleaded guilty on June 30 to distributing nearly 150 grams of a fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl mixture in the Richmond metropolitan area and elsewhere within the Eastern District of Virginia. Between September 17, 2021 and November 18, 2021, Gayle sold to an undercover source an additional 148 grams of fentanyl (6,976 dosage units), 140 grams of heroin (1,400 dosage units), a 9mm semiautomatic ghost gun, and a second high-capacity ghost gun capable of accepting more than 28 rounds of ammunition. A ghost gun is a firearm that is not marked with a serial number and is often made using a 3-D printer, so there is no way to track its origins or owners.

On December 15, 2021, Gayle was arrested while in possession of 400 grams of fentanyl, 58 grams of cocaine base, commonly known as “crack,” 7 grams of cocaine hydrochloride, and $7000 in U.S. currency.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; Gerald M. Smith, Chief of Richmond Police; and Charlie J. Patterson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr.

Special assistance was provided by the DEA’s Baltimore District Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-055.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – United States Attorney Jessica D. Aber announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Harvey, Avi Panth, and Anthony Mozzi, will lead the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEO) for the Northern Virginia region, Assistant U.S. Attorney Panth for the Central Capitol region, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mozzi for the Tidewater region. In this capacity, they are responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of Election Day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“The ability to vote freely and without interference is the right of every eligible American,” said U.S. Attorney Aber. “In order for fair, impartial elections to take place, election officials and staff must be able to do their work in facilitating the vote without suffering threats or violence. EDVA, in partnership with the Department of Justice, has taken the measure of appointing these District Election Officers with the intent of responding rapidly and effectively to any reports of voting-related criminal conduct to ensure our district’s election process is lawful and accurate.”

The Department of Justice and EDVA have an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur.  The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.

Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).  

In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud on November 8, the DEOs will be on duty while the polls are open. From 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., any calls should be directed to 703-299-3700.  From 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., calls should be directed to the below phone numbers:

Alexandria - Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Harvey, 703-299-3700

Norfolk and Newport News - Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mozzi, 757-441-6331

Richmond - Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth, 804-819-5400

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can also be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .

In the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to 150 months in prison for distributing cocaine after previously receiving at least two felony convictions for controlled substance offenses.

According to court documents, Craig Antonio Dawson, 51, helped co-conspirator Charles Boomer, 46, of Portsmouth, operate a drug stash house in Portsmouth across the street from an elementary school. On September 17, 2018, this location was the site of an attempted armed robbery where a third co-conspirator, Keith Redman, 27, also of Portsmouth, was shot. Police caught the three of them in a car, with Boomer sitting on wholesale amounts of crack cocaine, powder cocaine, and marijuana. The officers also recovered a gun used in the shooting on the floorboard within reach of all three of them. When Boomer exited the car, the arresting officer observed cash falling out of his pant legs and recovered more cash and the magazine matching the gun from his pockets. Dawson had additional crack cocaine in his pocket.

Dawson and Boomer were arrested then released from jail within the next week or two. By the next summer, they had moved to another drug stash house in Portsmouth and been the subject of three controlled buys of cocaine coordinated by law enforcement. Investigators searched the residence, recovering even more crack and powder cocaine.

In 2020, Boomer and Redman were sentenced to 16 years and 10 years in prison respectively for their role in the conspiracy. Since 2018, four additional defendants, all from Portsmouth, have been sentenced in connection with this case. For their roles in the conspiracy, Michael Howard, 42, was sentenced to 108 months, William Peele, 48, was sentenced to 121 months, Antonio Brown, 47, was sentenced to 210 months, and Roman Hurdle, 43, was sentenced to 108 months.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Stephen Jenkins, Interim Chief of Portsmouth Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Jackson prosecuted the case.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). Dawson is the final defendant to be sentenced under OCDETF Operation Promotional Deceit. This operation resulted in seven convictions, more than 84 years in prison sentences, and multiple kilograms of heroin, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine removed from the streets.

The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-31.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Merrifield couple was sentenced today for stealing at least nine people’s identities and using the stolen personal identifying information (PII) to fraudulently buy a luxury vehicle, lease high-end residences, and obtain loans and credit.

According to court documents, Caprice Foster, 51, and Marcus Foster, 33, stole the PII of numerous people primarily through Mrs. Foster’s work as a real estate agent and timeshare salesperson. The Fosters then used the victims’ information for their own benefit. To carry out their fraud scheme, the Fosters created numerous false identification documents in other people’s names, including social security cards and driver’s licenses, and they also fabricated tax and employment documents in their victims’ names. The Fosters opened fraudulent bank accounts using stolen identities and deposited stolen and altered checks into these accounts. The Fosters also incorporated a business that they used in furtherance of the fraud. Mr. Foster even impersonated victims in state court eviction proceedings to prolong the Fosters’ stay in residences they fraudulently leased.

Caprice Foster and Marcus Foster were sentenced to 80 months and 58 months in prison, respectively.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Jerome A. Winkle, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Mid-Atlantic Region; Michael McGill, Special Agent-in-Charge, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis III.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heidi B. Gesch and Carina A. Cuellar prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-cr-178.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to 41 months in prison for making more than 60 threats to murder, rape, torture, and otherwise harm state and federal elected officials, including numerous members of Congress and a former President of the United States.

According to court documents, Steve Cochran, 43, repeatedly threatened to murder, kidnap, torture, and/or rape elected officials and their loved ones. The threats were often highly graphic, expressed in unconditional language, and intended to influence the recipient to change his or her political views. For example, Cochran threatened to shoot a U.S. Senator. Cochran added that this was “not a threat” – it was a “guarantee.” He also threatened a Governor repeatedly that he would not “live past August” and his “wife and kids are in imminent danger.”

Cochran is a two-time convicted felon. He has prior felony convictions for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and burglary with intent to commit larceny. Cochran also has an assault conviction stemming from repeated threats to kill his spouse.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.

Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Mack Coleman prosecuted the case.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Peninsula Safe Streets Task Force and U.S. Capitol Police. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement also assisted. The Peninsula Safe Streets Task Force is a partnership that includes the FBI, Virginia State Police, Hampton Police Division, James City County Police Department, Newport News Police Department, and United States Postal Inspection Service. This task force investigates the most violent criminal enterprises operating on the Virginia Peninsula. Tips regarding gang activity and other violent crimes in the region can be reported to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or www.fbi.gov/tips.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-7.

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Hampton man yesterday on charges of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Christopher McPherson, 30, of Hampton, was arrested in April 2021 for his charged role in a drug trafficking organization. When he was arrested, he was found in possession of a firearm, cocaine, marijuana, a cutting agent to mix with cocaine, a money counting machine, currency and a cocaine press, which is a device used to press powder cocaine into kilogram sized blocks. Witnesses testified that the firearm in his possession was a tool of the drug trade used to intimidate others and to protect McPherson from other drug dealers. The jury also heard that McPherson was previously convicted of a felony and was prohibited from possessing a firearm.

McPherson was convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and marijuana, and of possessing the firearm after having been convicted of a felony. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment when sentenced on February 13, 2023. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Robert C. Young accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Nielsen are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:21-cr-10.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Aldie man pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging him with one count of wire fraud.

According to court documents, Kevin Lee, 38, was the controller for a McLean company. By virtue of his position, he had access to all the company’s finances, recordkeeping, and operational accounts. Between October 2018 and August 2021, Lee used his unique access to embezzle more than $7,000,000 through multiple transfers into his personal bank accounts. He disguised these transactions as payments to vendors and by falsifying information in the company’s recordkeeping software. Lee also re-directed money from an existing line of credit in the company’s name to cover revenue shortfalls created by his crime.

Lee is scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Washington Criminal Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Peters, with assistance from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Monika Moore, is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-135.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The Justice Department announced yesterday the results of its efforts over the past year to protect older adults from fraud and exploitation. During the past year, the Department and its law enforcement partners tackled matters that ranged from mass-marketing scams that impacted thousands of victims to bad actors scamming their neighbors. Substantial efforts were also made over the last year to return money to fraud victims. yesterday, the Department also announced it is expanding its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force to amplify efforts to combat scams originating overseas.

“EDVA is committed to pursuing justice on behalf of vulnerable members of our community, especially those impacted by elder fraud schemes,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Criminals who prey on the elderly and rob innocent victims of their lifelong savings and hard-earned retirement funds leave devastating emotional and financial trauma. This office will continue to work closely with our partners to investigate, apprehend, and prosecute perpetrators of these harmful scams.”

“We are intensifying our efforts nationwide to protect older adults, including by more than tripling the number of U.S. Attorneys’ offices participating in our Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force dedicated to disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting foreign-based fraud schemes that target American seniors,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This expansion builds on the Justice Department’s existing work to hold accountable those who steal funds from older adults, including by returning those funds to the victims where possible.”

During the period from September 2021 to September 2022, Department personnel and its law enforcement partners pursued approximately 260 cases involving more than 600 defendants, both bringing new cases and advancing those previously charged.

This past year, the Eastern District of Virginia has continued to pursue justice for elders in a wide range of cases, including:

• U.S. v. Mable Jones,  3:21-cr-30 -   The former owner of a Richmond-based assisted living facility that served primarily elderly and incapacitated adults was sentenced to 2 years in prison for health care fraud after diverting over $800,000 in federal and state benefits that were intended to pay for the care of the facility’s residents. Jones used the residents’ benefits to satisfy her personal debts, including her mortgage and bankruptcy payments, and to fund her personal travel, retail purchases, and gambling expenses, including at casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Jones’s diversion of resident benefits led to significant and persistent deficiencies in the facilities, care, and services provided to her facility’s residents, including deficiencies that endangered residents’ health and safety.
• U.S. v. Bank et al,  2:19-cr-47 -   The defendants executed a nationwide investment scheme involving fraudulent wireless spectrum and dental franchise investments. The scheme, operated out of California, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, and Hampton Roads, among other locations across the country, deceived hundreds of unsuspecting investors, most of whom were at or near retirement age. As a result of this investment fraud scheme, the victims suffered losses in excess of $20 million. Ten defendants were prosecuted and sentenced to terms ranging from 5 to 35 years.
• U.S. v. Prasad, 1:22-cr-40 -  The defendant conspired with several other individuals primarily based at a call center in India to carry out a tech support scheme that affected mostly elderly victims. From April 2016 through September 2021, more than 1,300 individuals were defrauded. The victims suffered losses totaling more than $1.6 million. The defendant was sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment.
• U.S. v. Garuba, 1:20-cr-201 -    The defendant engaged in financial transactions with illegal proceeds as part of a romance fraud scheme against mostly elderly victims. He received large wire transfers from a number of senior citizens living throughout the United States who were duped into believing that they were sending money at the request of and for the benefit of romantic partners they met through online dating sites. In total, Garuba transferred approximately 15% of the nearly $2.9 million that the fraudsters obtained from the victims. The defendant was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment.

As part of the Eastern District of Virginia’s elder fraud efforts, it engages in outreach to the community and industry to raise awareness about scams and exploitation and preventing victimization. This year, our District provided training on identifying, investigating, and prosecuting romance scams to state and local law enforcement and social services partners to help combat and prevent affinity frauds.

The Department also highlighted three other efforts: expansion of the Transnational Elder Fraud Task Force, success in returning money to victims and efforts to combat grandparent scams. 

The Department announced that as part of its continuing efforts to protect older adults and bring perpetrators of fraud schemes to justice it is expanding the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, adding 14 new U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Expansion of the Strike Force will help to coordinate the Department’s ongoing efforts to combat the largest and most harmful fraud schemes that target or disproportionately impact older adults.

In the past year, the Department has notified over 550,000 people that they may be eligible for remission payments. Notifications were made to consumers whose information was sold by one of three data companies prosecuted by the Department and were later victims of “sweepstakes” or “astrology” solicitations that falsely promised prizes or individualized services in return for a fee. More than 150,000 of those victims cashed checks totaling $52 million, and thousands more are eligible to receive checks. Also notified were consumers who paid fraudsters perpetrating person-in-need scams and job scams via Western Union. In the past year, the Department has identified and contacted over 300,000 consumers who may be eligible for remission. Since March of 2020 more than 148,000 victims have received more than $366 million as a result of a 2017 criminal resolution with Western Union for the company’s willful failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and its aiding and abetting of wire fraud.

Over the past year, the Department pursued cases against the perpetrators of “grandparent scams,” otherwise known as “person-in-need scams.” These scams typically begin when a fraudster, often based overseas, contacts an older adult and poses as either a grandchild, other family member or someone calling on behalf of a family member. Call recipients are told that their family member is in jeopardy and is urgently in need of money. When recently sentencing one of eight perpetrators of a grandparent scam indicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal judge described such scams as “heartbreakingly evil.” The Department is working with government partners and others to raise awareness about these schemes.

Reporting from consumers about fraud and fraud attempts is critical to law enforcements efforts to investigate and prosecute schemes targeting older adults. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-866 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice Hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting or connect them with agencies, and provide resources and referrals on a case-by-case basis. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.[ET]. English, Spanish, and other languages are available. More information about the Department’s elder justice efforts can be found on the Department’s Elder Justice website, www.elderjustice.gov.

Some of the cases that comprise yesterday’s announcement are charges, which are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A California man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for conspiring with others in schemes to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal loans initiative designed to help businesses pay their employees and meet expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Quin Ngoc Rudin, 55, a convicted felon, was the Secretary, Director and Chief Financial Officer of Mana Tax Services, a tax preparation business in the Los Angeles area. Rudin engaged in a conspiracy to commit two fraud schemes using Mana Tax while on supervised release.

First, Rudin conspired with his brother, Thanh Rudin, 59, of Rosemead, California, as well as Seir Havana, 46, of North Hollywood, California, and others, to prepare and file with the IRS a series of false income tax returns on behalf of at least nine professional athletes. The false tax returns reported fictitious business and personal losses to generate refunds the athletes were not entitled to receive. Rudin also filed amended tax returns for most of the athletes for prior years to correct what he falsely characterized as “errors” made by their previous accountants. Mana Tax charged the athletes a fee of 30% of the resulting refunds issued by the IRS. Rudin’s tax fraud scheme caused a total tax loss of more than $19 million.

Second, Rudin and his co-conspirators, also including Milton Estrada, 49, of Fullerton, California, at Mana Tax also prepared and submitted false applications for PPP loans on behalf of small businesses, shell companies, and other business entities they controlled. Rudin and his co-conspirators prepared fraudulent PPP loan applications for these firms in exchange for a fee of 30% of the resulting loan. The co-conspirators submitted fabricated tax returns to support the PPP loan applications, and some of the business owners never saw their loan applications before Mana Tax filed them. To conceal the 30% fee from the government, Rudin and his co-conspirators directed the businesses to pay the co-conspirators with cashier’s checks and to note on the memo lines that the checks were related to payroll. To obtain fraudulent PPP loans on behalf of shell companies and other business entities they controlled, Rudin and the co-conspirators grossly inflated the number of employees and monthly payroll costs claimed on the applications. Some of the businesses were not eligible for any PPP loan funds at all because they did not have any payroll expenses. The fraud loss to the U.S. government stemming from the PPP scheme exceeded $43 million.

Rudin committed these crimes while he was on supervised release for another fraud scheme in California. He pleaded guilty on May 13 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit wire fraud, as well as to one count of wire fraud. Three other co-conspirators, including Rudin’s brother, Thanh Rudin, Seir Havana, and Milton Estrada also pleaded guilty as part of this conspiracy. Thanh Rudin and Havana are scheduled to be sentenced on November 9. Milton Estrada is to be sentenced on December 21.

“Between the complex and calculated tax fraud scheme and the PPP fraud to steal funds designated to provide relief to Americans suffering from the pandemic, this defendant’s crimes resulted in a staggering loss in the tens of millions,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Today’s sentence demonstrates the swift and exacting justice that awaits anyone who attempts to steal funds from the U.S. Government and taxpayers. This result is in no small part due to the diligence of the investigative agents on this case, who reacted decisively to identify the scheme and recover significant portions of defrauded taxpayer funds.”

“I commend the hard work of the Eastern District of Virginia, the Tax Division, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said Kevin Chambers, Director of COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement.  “The Department will continue to aggressively pursue all who exploited the pandemic as a means to enrich themselves at the expense of those for whom pandemic relief funds were intended.”

“Quin Ngoc Rudin defrauded the Treasury of tens of millions of dollars by securing grossly inflated tax refunds and fraudulently obtaining COVID relief loans with fabricated tax returns,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Tax preparers should know that whether their clients are professional athletes or the neighbor down the block, they need to do their jobs honestly and professionally, or face the consequences.”

“Today, Quin Ngoc Rudin was sentenced for his fraudulent scheme to exploit a program designed to provide to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unacceptable for anyone to prioritize their own greed above others and steal funds from the American taxpayers. Rudin and his co-conspirators spent their fraudulently obtained funds to further their scheme, including traveling on private jets to portray themselves as successful business owners,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division. “The FBI and our partners will work to bring those to justice who attempt to enrich themselves at the expense of others and take advantage of government programs designed to aid businesses, people, and our economy during a time of need.”

“Honest taxpayers are fed up with crooks like Quin Rudin who defrauded a government program meant to help those in need to line their pockets while skirting their tax obligations," said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon, Washington, D.C. Field Office. "Rudin and his conspirators devised a scheme to steal from a CARES Act loan program to fund their lifestyles. His actions not only caused negative ramifications to those financially connected to him, but also the honest taxpayer when he and his conspirators committed significant tax fraud violations.”

The United States recovered over $15 million of the fraud proceeds. Rudin’s restitution amount will be ordered at a later date.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Stuart M. Goldberg, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Darrell J. Waldon, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigations made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and U.S. Small Business Administration provided assistance with the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Shartar and Kimberly R. Pedersen, and Assistant Chief David Zisserson of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-46.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for a fraud scheme to obtain unemployment benefits made available because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents, Demichael J. Peeples, 27, submitted multiple false unemployment claims with the Commonwealth of Virginia and State of California. He filed fraudulent claims for benefits for himself and on behalf of others. In these claims, Peeples falsely represented, among other things, the applicants’ work history and that they lost their employment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Peeples recruited individuals on social media to provide their personally identifying information, so he could file fraudulent claims for benefits in their name. In many cases, the defendant had the benefit payments delivered to his residence and kept the proceeds for himself.

Peeples is a documented member of the “10K” street gang on the Peninsula. While on pretrial release, he used illegal drugs, failed to seek employment, did not report contact with law enforcement to his supervising probation officer, and otherwise failed to comply with his conditions of release. In March, Peeples was evicted from a hotel room where police found a Glock semiautomatic firearm that had a preliminary match to a shooting that occurred earlier that same day. In May, police were dispatched to Peeples’s residence after unknown individuals fired 19 rounds at Peeples. After pleading guilty, the Court revoked his bond and remanded him into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Troy Springer, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, DC Regional Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Mark Talbot, Chief of Hampton Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen.

This case was investigated under the leadership and coordination of the Newport News Financial Crimes Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys D. Mack Coleman and Devon E.A. Heath prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:21-cr-66.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond physician has agreed to pay $50,000 in civil penalties for allegedly issuing prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.

The government alleged that, in 2019, Dr. Salman Akbar, 55, issued seven prescriptions for tramadol, a Schedule IV opioid, and lorazepam, a Schedule IV benzodiazepine, to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force Officer over the course of four visits to Akbar’s office. The government alleged that Akbar issued the prescriptions outside the usual course of professional practice in Virginia, and not for a legitimate medical purpose.

The Controlled Substances Act regulates individuals and companies that manufacture, distribute, and dispense controlled substances. The law aims to protect public health and safety from the dangers posed by highly addictive or dangerous controlled substances, including the diversion or improper use of such substances, while also ensuring that patients have access to pharmaceutical controlled substances for legitimate medical purposes.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the DEA’s Washington Division- Richmond District Office.

The matter was investigated by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilene Albala and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McIntosh. The civil claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no admission of civil liability.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER

RICHMOND, Va. – Two physicians have agreed to pay $100,000 in civil penalties for allegedly issuing prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.

The government alleged that, between March and July 2016, Dr. Steven Deschner, 67, and Dr. Bonnie Deschner, 67, who formerly practiced in Hanover County, issued five prescriptions for morphine, a Schedule II narcotic, to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force Officer over the course of four visits to the Deschners’ DeBoss Clinic. The government alleged that the Deschners issued the prescriptions outside the usual course of professional practice in Virginia, and not for a legitimate medical purpose.

The Controlled Substances Act regulates individuals and companies that manufacture, distribute, and dispense controlled substances. The law aims to protect public health and safety from the dangers posed by highly addictive or dangerous controlled substances, including the diversion or improper use of such substances, while also ensuring that patients have access to pharmaceutical controlled substances for legitimate medical purposes.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the DEA’s Washington Division- Richmond District Office.

The matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McIntosh. The civil claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no admission of civil liability.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Front Royal woman was sentenced today to seven years in prison for being the ringleader of a decade-long oxycodone distribution network, sourcing high-dosage oxycodone pills from a doctor in Arlington.

According to court documents, Candie Marie Calix, 40, nominally worked as an office manager for a physician in Arlington, referred to in court records as Doctor-1. Between 2012 and 2022, Doctor-1 prescribed Calix nearly 40,000 oxycodone 30-mg pills and more than 9,000 oxycodone 15-mg pills. Doctor-1 also prescribed similar quantities of oxycodone 30-mg and 15-mg pills to Calix’s relatives, including her mother, grandparents, great-grandmother, brother, and husband. These quantities were far in excess of therapeutic doses, and Calix personally distributed or directed others to distribute most of the pills that Doctor-1 prescribed to Calix and her family members.

Calix functioned as the gatekeeper to Doctor-1; she recruited individuals she knew from around Front Royal to be “patients” of Doctor-1 and obtain large quantities of oxycodone. These “patients,” in turn, typically kicked back the oxycodone 30-mg pills they were prescribed to Calix to redistribute, and kept the oxycodone 15-mg pills for their own use. Calix recruited at least 12 individuals to be “patients” of Doctor-1—even though she knew them to be addicted to opiates already.

Calix and her co-conspirators used coded language to refer to the pills they distributed, for example, referring to oxycodone 30-mg pills as “tickets,” “blueberries,” or “muffins.” The co-conspirators typically sold oxycodone 30-mg pills at a cost of $25 per pill, and over the course of the conspiracy, generated at least $5,000 per month in profits. Calix agreed to entry of a money judgment of more than half a million dollars representing the proceeds of the conspiracy that she realized.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Rumbaugh prosecuted the case.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principle mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-115.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A White Post man was sentenced yesterday to life imprisonment for his leadership role in multiple violent crimes, including a 2017 murder in Charlottesville and two 2019 attempted murders in Prince William County.

According to court documents and evidence presented during a three-week trial of his co-defendants, Andy Tovar, 33, was the First Word or leader of the Guanacos Lil Cycos Salvatruchas (GLCS) clique of MS-13. Tovar is considered to be one of the highest-ranking MS-13 members in the United States.

In July 2017, Tovar authorized members and associates of the GLCS clique to travel from Prince William County to Charlottesville to murder an individual the GLCS clique believed was a rival gang member (Victim-1). At Tovar’s direction, on or about July 3, 2017, four members of the GLCS clique stabbed Victim-1 to death over 140 times using a machete and knives before they dumped Victim-1’s body in a river, burned his car, and fled back to Prince William County. Victim-1 was struck so hard by the machete that the machete’s handle broke. The following day, Tovar celebrated the Fourth of July with two of his co-conspirators and congratulated them on what they had done for the clique.

In March 2019, Tovar’s co-defendant, Roberto Cruz Moreno, 22, aka “Solo,” of Woodbridge, who was a “chequeo” or soldier in the GLCS clique under Tovar, picked up three other members or associates of GLCS and Victim-2 and drove them to an isolated area in Bristow. There, one associate of GLCS, using a firearm supplied by Tovar, shot Victim-2 multiple times and another associate of GLCS attempted to slit Victim-2’s throat and stabbed him because members and associates of GLCS believed Victim-2 was disrespecting MS-13. Following the attempted murder, Cruz Moreno fled the scene with the three other GLCS participants and drove them to his residence. Tovar informed MS-13 leadership in El Salvador of this attempted murder and mocked the GLCS associate who shot Victim-2 for being unable to kill Victim-2.

In April 2019, local law enforcement officers in Fairfax County found Cruz Moreno in possession of the same firearm used to shoot Victim-2, and several grams of packaged cocaine in his vehicle with three other associates of GLCS. Cruz Moreno obtained the cocaine from Tovar and had been selling the cocaine on behalf of the clique.

In July 2019, Tovar’s co-defendant, Marvin Torres, 21, aka “Trance,” of Manassas, a chequeo in GLCS, identified Victim-3 as a rival gang member living in GLCS-controlled territory, and provided photographs of Victim-3 to GLCS members, including Tovar. 

On August 3 and 4, 2019, Tovar’s co-defendant Jose Rosales Juarez, aka “Gears,” 27, of Manassas, a “paro,” an entry level member of the GLCS clique, surveilled Victim-3 at a restaurant in Manassas, and discussed plans to kill Victim-3 with Tovar.

On August 12, 2019, Tovar’s co-defendant, Kevin Perez Sandoval, 21, aka “Nocturno,” of Warrenton, an “observacion”, or lower level soldier in the GLCS clique, and two members or associates of GLCS observed Victim-3 at a laundromat in Manassas and sought Tovar’s permission to kill Victim-3 at the laundromat. After Tovar granted permission, Perez Sandoval drove the two members or associates of MS-13 to retrieve a firearm, and back to the laundromat area, where Victim-3 was shot twice before Perez Sandoval drove them from the scene of the shooting. Tovar then directed his co-conspirators in evading law enforcement detection by relaying information from Torres, who was watching law enforcement at the site of the shooting, and helping the co-conspirators find new transportation and a hotel room with the assistance of Rosales Juarez.

Tovar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering activity, attempted murder in aid of racketeering activity, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity, and using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, all in relation to Victim-3. Tovar also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek Gordon, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. field office; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division; Colonel Sean Reeves, Chief of Albemarle County Police; Douglas W. Keen, Chief of Manassas City Police; Peter Newsham, Chief of Prince William County Police; Amy Ashworth, Commonwealth Attorney for Prince William County; and Kevin Davis, Chief of Fairfax County Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas U. Murphy and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas J. Patterson, and Amanda Lowe prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-cr-18.